Ok thanks for all the advice. Still debating on what type of headers to buy and all but I will just coat them myself then wrap them. Is their any particular headers that are longer because after looking at the engine bay I can see there is alot of room for them. I saw that Edlebrock has some type of Tubular Exhaust System Headers which adapt all the way to the cat. And what I have learned correct me if I'm wrong generally a longer header will mean better flow??? And after looking at the engine bay there is plenty of room for headers nothing close to like my bro's camero . So I figure since there is so much room why not use it as much as I can.

Anyways I have a plan for exhaust. It is to right now buy a single exhuast system gibson or some thing like that. Run the pipes out to one side plain and simple and get a flowmaster muffler highflow cat, the works. Then later as I work on the engine more (TB, pulleys, mass air flow sensor *Centrifugal Supercharger dreaming* ect.) I will run pipes from the left headers back to make a dual exhaust system. Any reason why it would not work? Figure a Little bit of welding and fabrication will be needed but no a ton so I think I will be able to do it. Maybe not even that.

Once again thanks for the help.

 

Pablov, I have a 97 2WD 5.2 Dak with Stainless Steel Gibson headers with Gibson Duals out the rear thru a MagnaFlow hi flow cat. The Gibson headers are shorty style and are a tight fit on the passenger side. The upper control arm's rear bushing is approximately 1/2" from the header. I have installed poly bushings recently and have not seen any deterioration because of heat but time will tell. If I had it to do over again I would not use the Gibson headers or duals due to clearance and fit. Probably go with JBA to include their "Y" collector. Headers are a better design but cost more. Ceramic coating would be wise investment due to the proximity of the headers and upper control arm bushings on the passenger side. The Gibson duals did not just "bolt up" even with a muffler shop's help. Muffler shop I used caters to stret machines especially trucks. Would recommend a quality muffler shop custom bending your pipes to match your choice of muffler and preferred exhaust tailpipe location. Gibson pipes and muffler have held up for four years and do sound aggressive but not annoying. Best improvement on exhaust was installing the MagnaFlow hi flow cat. Big difference in power over stock cat. MagnaFlow tech reps were excellent over the phone for selection. Actual MagnaFlow cats are reasonable if you search the internet comparing prices. ARP sells 12 point header bolts which will aid in initial installation and retorquing. Good luck.

 

There is some quality bad advice here.


1) Dual versus duel. Dual = two of something, duel = a contest between two people. This is nit-picky, but I'd like to see nobody mention duel exhaust ever again.

2) You don't NEED an H or X pipe with your DUAL exhaust, but your engine won't run as well without one. Why? Because of the way the exhaust gasses travel through the pipes and the fact that you're building an exhaust system for a v8 (or 6), not two independent 4 bangers.

3) Dual exhaust is generally better for high-rpm applications, versus single exhaust being better for low-end torque. Of course you can design them for the other way around, but it all revolves around what you're trying to accomplish. Engines are air pumps, pure and simple. Low rpm torque relies to an extent on exhaust gas scavenging which requires small enough pipes to keep exhaust gas temps and velocity UP, but sacrifices top end ultimate capacity. It's a trade off. Choke the top end too much and you lose a considerable amount of hp - just look at cars from the late 70's and 80's - puny exhaust pipes with crap output.


Long tube headers help most with torque iirc, because they promote the scavenging effect with long pulses. For a high-rpm screamer I doubt it matters much since what you want is big enough pipe to get rid of the gasses as fast as possible.

The problem with long tubes in a small-ish 4x4 there's a shortage in room underneath for routing the crossover piping without diminishing ground clearance or tight 90 degree corners.

For a 4.7 liter mostly-stock setup (stock heads, cams, etc) I'd recommend 1 1/2 to 1 5/8" primary tubes into a 2.25 or 2.5" max collector. If you tow or 4-wheel at all, I'd go with a single exhaust through a high flow cat and muffler of your choice (mine is flowmaster) with 3" out the side in the stock location.